As usual, I signed up for dessert. Well, I volunteered, actually. And after finding out the menu was sushi, I thought a light tea cake, maybe a fruity kind, would be ideal.

Berries were in season, so that was settled, and blueberries are my favorite because they hold up in loaves and become so moist and ooze out their sweet juices when baked. And paired with lemons, it's a match made in the oven. Swoon!

Still to decide was the form this lemon blueberry delight will come in. A loaf wasn't going to cut the aesthetic part of it. Great for home, but not so for a plated dessert. Not muffins or cupcakes... It would have to be a sheet cake. More like squares. But not just blueberry bars like this. I wanted some 'cake matter' as well.

And so this blueberry tea cake came to be. A bar cum sheet cake and who can resist the lovely crunch from the crumb topping? Well, that was it! A Blueberry Crumb Tea Cake. Because after sushi, we would be having matcha, not coffee... hence the 'tea' cake.

Happy to say that it was such a hit with the host and her guests, and my troop of food critics at home.

Directions:
1. Make a sling for a 13x9 inch baking pan by lining it with 2 sheets of parchment paper (one in each direction) with enough overhang to lift from the sides.
2. Combine the crumb topping ingredients, either whirring them in a food processor, or pinching the butter bits into the dry ingredients, until the mixture resembles bread crumbs. Set this aside.

3. In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder and salt. Set this aside.
4. In a bowl of a stand mixer, or in a large mixing bowl, beat the butter and sugar until pale and fluffy.
5. Now would be a good time to start preheating the even to 350F.

6. Beat in the eggs, one at a time, followed by the vanilla.
7. On medium low speed, add the yogurt, liqueur or juice, and the lemon zest.
8. Fold in the flour mixture in 2 batches, taking care not to deflate the batter by overmixing.
8. With a wooden spoon, gently fold in the blueberries.

9. Place the batter (will be slightly thick) into the prepared pan, and with a small spatula, even it out in the corners.
Tip: I like to drop thick battered cakes like this onto a towel lined counter. About a 4 inch drop will do. A few times, if needed. Gets rid of air pockets and you don't need to wash the spatula. Ahaaa! Light bulb moment :)
10. Sprinkle the crumb topping on the batter.
11. Bake for 40-45 minutes until a skewer comes clean (unless you punctured a juicy berry in there), all you are looking for is no wet dough, anyway.

12. While cake is baking, whisk the drizzle ingredients and pour into a ziplock bag.

13. When the kitchen smells of blueberry goodness and the cake is done, cool on a wire rack for 15-20 minutes before enlisting a family member to help lift up the cake (via the sling you deftly made) and placing it on the cooling rack to cool completely.
Of course yours truly had to rush to brunch so we just grabbed the cake straight from the oven onto the cooling rack. It was so moist, so soft. yumm! And more importantly, it held up. I do not recommend, but let's just say its good to know it can be done ;)

Bring to brunch, please the host, and give in to the rave reviews of the other guests. Another recipe for keeps! Another cake successfully pulled off for the blog! Another portable treat for the kids! Hmmm... I wonder which is more gratifying.

Why turtle? Because in feng shui, the turtle symbolizes longevity. Just as how we typically have noodles in a birthday celebration, I thought that this cake would be appropriate given the nature of the occasion. Besides it was inevitable that we have a chocolate cake. And since G is nutty about nuts, incorporating it into the cake would be ideal! And the caramel? It's just coming along for the ride.

The chocolate cake recipe is courtesy of Matt Lewis and I found it at Oprah.com. If it's good enough for Oprah, it's definitely good enough for me!

We made Italian buttercream frosting and combined it with some bourbon caramel to make a salted caramel frosting. And we got a few dark chocolate turtles to grace the top of this 'Chocolate Longevity Cake'

Directions:
1. Prepare 2 8inch cake pans by lining them with parchment, then greasing and flouring.
2. In a small bowl combine the hot coffee with espresso powder and cocoa, whisking vigorously to combine. Set this aside to cool.
3. Combine all dry ingredients in a large bowl and whisk to combine.
4. To the dry ingredients, add the melted butter, eggs, vanilla and hot cocoa mixture.
5. With the mixer on low, beat until dry ingredients are moistened.
6. By the way, now is a good time to preheat the oven to 350 F.
7. Increase to medium and beat 2 more minutes.
8. Pour batter into prepared pans and bake for about 30 minutes, until it passes the skewer test.
9. Cool, still in the pan, on cooling racks 10 minutes before inverting it and cooling completely.

Directions:
1. Gently heat the sugar and water in a pot until the sugar is dissolved. Turn the heat to medium high and boil until it reaches 235 F, being careful not to go hotter.
2. Meanwhile, whip 5 egg whites in your stand mixer until soft peaks form.
3. Drizzle the sugar mixture in a steady small stream into your stand mixer whilst the whisk is running on high.
4. Continue whisking until the bowl reaches room temperature.
5. Cube by cube, add your butter whilst mixing, adding another cube after the last one has disappeared.
6. Continue mixing until the mixture resembles a soft buttercream.
7. Stir in the salted caramel and voila! Salted caramel buttercream.

I don't know if I was going to do, or if I was even able to do a good enough cake as last year's, but that's what pushing the envelope means. There wasn't much debate (in my head) what kind of cake it would be. Summer called for a fruit cake and this time, I was going to exploit ... er ... showcase the best of BC's produce - its berries! All types of it, in fact. It was going to be a berry-licious delight - with nature's bounty of strawberries, raspberries, blueberries and blackberries.

It warranted a simple vanilla cake to serve as a carrier for all the moist juicy goodness, and after a bit of research, I settled on one by Martha Stewart. Also most of the berry cakes I saw had a cream cheese frosting and hey ... why reinvent the wheel? So that was settled then. It would be a classic vanilla layer cake with fresh berries and cream cheese frosting!

This cake truly tested my skills. But I'll get to that later ... so read on. Good thing we didn't really have an elaborate feast around it. Asian culture dictates a birthday celebration should have noodles, because the long and winding pieces of starchy gluten signifies a long life ;) That was almost non-negotiable because of the presence of the 'esteemed maternal figure'. But since it was unbearably hot, I also had Max assemble a fresh medley of greens with an Asian themed dressing to accompany it. And that was the only thing on the table that wasn't disastrous! Lol!

Directions:
1. Grease, line, and flour three 8"(yields a taller layer) or 9" (what I used) cake pans.
2. Whisk the cake flour, baking powder, and salt in another bowl.
3. Position two racks in the center of the oven. Preheat the oven to 350º F.
4. Beat the butter and sugar until light and fluffy.
5. Beat in the eggs one yolk at a time, then the vanilla.
6. Fold in a third of the dry ingredients, then half of the buttermilk. Repeat, ending with the dry ingredients.
7. Pour the mixture into the cake pans, bake for 20-25 minutes, rotating them once risen.
8. When a skewer comes out clean, cool in the pan for 5-7 minutes before taking them out to cool completely.

Directions:
1. Beat the cream cheese and butter until soft and light.
2. Beat in the icing sugar one cup at a time until smooth.
3. Beat in the zest, vanilla, and heavy cream until incorporated.

Assembling the cake
1. Set down one layer on a cake platter, brush with cake syrup, then frost the top with a 1/3 of the frosting.
2. Repeat until all three layers are stacked.
3. Artfully mound the berries on top of the frosting with a few sprigs of mint.

So you stuck around for the juicy stuff ... here's what went awry (to put it mildly). They say a good cook can make fantastic food, but a great one can fix the not-so-fantastic stuff. Well, this was a testament to not only skills, but imagination.

So the cake came out very well. The icing, however, not so. I multiplied the amount to 150% because it didn't look like a lot to me and forgot, or rather, just didn't add on enough icing sugar because, you know, I'm trying to cut down on it. Besides, it was tasting too sweet already. Then I placed the icing in the fridge to 'harden' coz it was on the soft side.

When it was time to frost the cake, I had initially placed berries between the layers and that's when it started to go from bad to worse. The cake layers, weighed down by gravity, started oozing the 'too soft frosting' out of its sides and down the perimeter. And because I wanted a 'naked' cake, this didn't bode well.

As we started piling on the berries on the very top, that's when the magic started to happen. Haha... that's when cake-mageddon started. Suddenly, well, actually, in slow motion, I saw the frosting carrying my gorgeous berries down its sides. OMG! I was almost freaking out. My first reaction was to freeze the whole cake, and so we did, for 5 minutes. Before I had a lightbulb moment. Then I took it out. I was going to re-imagine this cake. After all, I had a photo from pinterest I was trying to emulate. Scrap that!

We removed the cake from the freezer, scraped all frosting and berries from between the layers and on top of the cake. Then laid the three cake layers atop one another, sans the offending frosting. Used a bit of drenched berries to make a mound on top, keeping clear of the sides, and fortunately, had a ton of fresh berries (I shop at Costco) to decorate the top of the cake. Joy, of course, keeps fresh mint handy and that worked beautifully to break the monotony. Whew!

You can't always get what you want, or aimed for. But with a bit of imagination and creativity, you not only avert a hopeless situation, but more importantly, find out what you are made of ;)

The cake looks good, not great. The frosting was too sweet, and I'm glad I scraped a load off, but the berries - luscious, juicy and succulent, saved the day. It tasted great, everyone loved it, and I slept well.

We had plenty of apples and Mommy asked me to make applesauce. When she came home from work, I had surprised her with this amazingly soft and moist loaf. She was so smitten. I got a lot of blog points ;) What are blog points, you ask? Something she does not need to make yet gets featured on this blog.

Now we could go creative on this base recipe, nuts, pumpkin spice, chocolate chips, even! Daddy will most certainly approve of that. But since I was in a hurry and wanted to wrap it up quickly, I made this as is.

Now since we had more applesauce than required for 1 batch, I made another batch as mini cupcakes and topped them off with walnuts. We had an guests coming the next day and this was a hit! I was so pleased with myself ;)

The applesauce recipe should make about 3 cups of applesauce, which is perfect for this recipe. It's enough to make two loaves or 48 cupcakes that are undeniably soft and moist.

Directions:
1. Peel, core, and chop the apples.
2. Place all the applesauce ingredients into a pan and cook for 15 minutes over medium heat until the apples are soft.
3. Cool, then mash.

4. Butter two loaf pans (or place muffin liners on muffin pans)
5. Crack the eggs in a stand mixer and add the sugar and beat using the paddle attachment for 2 minutes until the mixture is light yellow and thick.
6. Add the apple sauce, beat, scrape down the sides of the bowl.
7. Add the butter, beat, scrape down the sides of the bowl. The mixture may break and take on a curdled appearance—this is normal.

8. In a separate bowl, mix the flour, baking soda, salt, and cinnamon.
9. Beat this into the applesauce mixture, then add as much walnuts as desired.

10. Pour the batter into the loaf pans (or the muffin pans).
11. Bake the loaves for 1 hour (or the muffins for 20 minutes) until golden and a cake tester inserted into the centre of the cake comes out clean and dry.
12. Cool on a wire rack for five minutes before removing the loaves (or muffins) from the pans to cool more thoroughly.

Or... how to make pasta without a recipe. Or... how to have lunch in under 10 minutes ;)

1. In a pot, boil water for the pasta.
2. In a skillet with a generous glug of oil, sauté onions, garlic and celery, letting it sweat together for a few minutes until aromatic.
3. Add 2 chopped fresh tomatoes to the skillet and cook it down, adding wine or water as necessary. Add basil, a few drops of Tabasco and teensy little bit of sucanat. Pour into a bowl and set aside.
4. Place pasta in the boiling water with a generous sprinkle of salt.
5. To the same, unwashed skillet add another glug of extra virgin olive oil and warm it with a sprinkle of chili flakes.
6. When hot, quickly add the prawns in a single layer and cook it until pink with a sprinkle of salt.
7. Finish the prawns with a squeeze of fresh lemon juice (without the seeds, of course) and set aside.
8. Drain pasta when al dente and return to the pot.
9. Add the tomato sauce to the pasta pot with your prawns and let it cook for a minute. Finish with a handful (or three) of spinach and a dusting of Parmigiano Reggiano.

In this experiment, various baking techniques were used to synthesise dark chocolate cupcakes. It was observed that the products, the dark chocolate cupcakes, were scrumptious and tastefully moist. It can be said, then, that the technique utilised in this report was shown to be an effective method of synthesising yummy dark chocolate cupcakes. Further studies regarding decorating methods are encouraged. Please utlise the following social connectivitiy aids to showcase your variation of this recipe @fuelingwithflavour for instagram and @FuelWithFlavour for twitter

Method:
1. With a wire whip, whisk cocoa and boiling water in a beaker (or a cup).
2. Set aside and let cool to approximately 40ºC (or lukewarm)
3. Add buttermilk to cocoa solution.

4. In medium bowl, sift or whisk flour, baking soda, and salt.

5. In the bowl of a stand mixer with a flat beater appendage, beat butter and sugars until pale and fluffy, ensuring that the butter is not cold before this step is completed.
6. Add eggs to bowl one at a time.
7. Add vanilla.

Conclusion:
Dark Chocolate Cupcakes play a significant role in the diet of a human individual. Its consumption results in varying levels of an excited state commonly known as happiness. It proved itself to be a suitable addition to the Mother's Day Tea 2015 series.

Quick, easy, and oh-so-delicious! One of my favorite ways to use a spice blend is just as a rub for poultry, meats or even to stir fry vegetables. For this recipe, we used Fuel with Flavour's Vindaloo spice blend, an aromatic blend of cumin, coriander, cayenne, tumeric and clove, among others.

Vindaloo is a dish originating in Goa, India, where it is usually found as a chicken or lamb curry dish. The meats are marinated with vinegar, bit of oil, and the ubiquitous ginger garlic paste. The highly seasoned curry is known to be very hot ... spicy hot and fiery hot. Fortunately, our spice blend is mild and even my picky eater at home didn't complain about the chilies. Of course, you could amp up the heat by adding more cayenne yourself.

Summer began a week ago, which, of course, means that the heat has only gotten more unbearable. And what better way to deal with it than kulfi?

Kulfi, for those who don't know it, is an Indian dessert that is somewhat similar to ice-cream. However, since it is not churned, it's denser and creamier, which means that it takes a longer time to melt. Although most recipes call for milk only, we added some cream to make the kulfi richer. There's a nice crunch from the pistachio with a lovely fragrance from the aromas from the saffron and rose water. The recipe below makes kulfi fit for Goldilocks—not too spiced and not too sweet; it's just right!—enough for 10 people to enjoy!

Directions:
1. Boil the heavy cream and milk in a saucepan, frequently stirring to prevent scorching.
2. Let it simmer until the cream and milk reduces to nearly half the original volume (approximately 20 minutes).

3. Mix in the cardamom, saffron, and sugar.
4. Put in the bread to thicken the mixture and bring the mixture to a boil. Allow the mixture to soak up the bread until it has just about dissolved.
5. Stir in the rose water.

6. Set aside the mixture to cool. Once cooled, blend it in a food processor to get rid of lumps from the bread and spices.
7. Pour the mixture into kulfi molds, small paper cups or popsicle molds. If exposed, cover them with a plastic wrap before freezing for at least 6 hours.

8. Remove the kulfi from the molds by wrapping them in a warm towel. This trick makes it easier and faster to dislodge from the metal kulfi molds.
9. Garnish with some chopped pistachios.

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About me

Growing up in a multicultural family, we have always enjoyed a wide array of cuisines. That's why you will find here a taste of the Indian, with special emphasis on Sindhi cuisine; a taste of the Indonesian, especially the Manadonese dishes, and surely, the universal Chinese dishes.